But I Want to be a Moustache!

No. You read that correctly. And no. I don't want to be a moustache. But my 4 year old daughter does. For Halloween, I should add, not as a life goal. As she was on her way home from school last week, Randy (my delightfully accommodating and perpetually wonderful "boyfriend") asked both girls what they wanted to be for Halloween. Halloween is one of our very favorite holidays in the Salvatori-Lambert house. Salvatori comes before Lambert because there are more Salvatori named individuals than Lamberts. Just in case you wondered...But I digress. Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for my girls, fueled solely by the promise of an entire years worth of candy, garnered all in one night. But no matter the reason, they look forward to Halloween all year long. So when Randy asked Izzy what she wanted to be for Halloween, she had already set her mind to, yep...A moustache. Just what every Mother dreams their daughter will be. A moustache. So, after nearly careening off the road in a fit of laughter, Randy calls me at work. He says, "do you know what your daughter wants to be for Halloween"? "Uh, I dunno", I say. "A princess"? "NO"! Randy is nearly in tears at this point, and I can hear the squeal of the tires as he is yet again struggling to maintain control of the car under the duress of laughing til it hurts. "She wants to be a MOUSTACHE"!

Silence.

"I'm sorry, do what"? I ask. At this point, Randy is pleading with me not to make him say it again, because it is just too much...And so, more silence from me. Then, I begin to wonder. Does she want to be a handlebar mustache, or something more along the lines of Groucho Marx or Hitler? How does one make a moustache costume? And as if knowing that breaking the silence is just the right thing to do, Randy asks me if he should go as a razor. Really? I'm so sorry. I can only conceptualize one complex costume at a time. And I am still working on moustache! Get in line, Gillette! Suddenly, I am reminded of last year...My oldest daughter wanted to be something complicated too...What was it again? I know she ended up dressing as Hannah Montana, and that was a piece of cake. She already has the blond hair, and the costume came in a plastic bag. I did spend a little more than intended on the fancy Hannah Montana boots, but I did say NO to the cutting of Amelia's bangs (you know, to make the look more "authentic"). So what was it she wanted to be again...Hmmm.

I had momentarily forgotten that I was on the phone, then something pulled me back from daydreaming...It's the sound of more laughter...squeeling...this time not from the tires, but from my oldest and youngest laughing in delight. So I ask Randy, "what is going on in that car"? To which he replies, "do you know what Amelia wants to be for Halloween"? Cautiously, I say "nooooo"...And in between convulsing he manages to say "a coral reef"!

Suddenly, I remember just what it was Amelia wanted to be last year. And I guess it is making an encore. Great. When I visualized my time on this planet as a Mommy, it never once included the vision of me, walking down the street on Halloween night, telling the Moustache and the Coral Reef to hurry the hell up, cause this Mommy needs a cocktail. Well, here's to visualization, and I am having that cocktail now. I need it. I still have a Coral Reef costume and a mustache to build.